During the preschool years, children are constantly learning. Everything around them becomes an opportunity for knowledge. Little things like singing the ABCs in the car or practicing counting while taking a walk are wonderful ways to sneak learning into everyday activities.
By ages 3 or 4, most children can say their ABCs with little trouble. They may have a much harder time actually recognizing what letters look like. There are many creative ways to teach letter recognition for reading readiness while still having a little fun.
1. Get out the finger paints. Draw letters on paper and ask your children to help you identify them. A good place to start is with the letters in their name, as they are more likely to recognize those letters first.
2. Play with Play-Doh. Shape the dough into letter shapes and make words or names.
3. Gather your newspapers or magazines and circle letters together. You could also use magazines to make letter collages. Match pictures that start with certain letters.
4. Create an ABC book with your child. Take simple construction paper or plain white paper and put one letter on each page. Help your child draw pictures that correspond with each letter, or use your magazines and newspapers to cut out pictures.
5. Sing silly songs using colors, letters, numbers, and even shapes. Any tune will work, and be as creative as possible. Anything can be a subject for a song, and preschoolers just love to listen and watch a grown-up being silly.
6. If your child attends a preschool class, ask the teacher if they have a letter of the week at school. Bring school into your house by focusing on that letter at home as well. For example, take out a stuffed lion for the letter "L."
7. Surround your child with books. Read, read, and read some more to your children! Take time to point out words and letters as you read together. Visit the library and encourage your children to be excited about reading. You could even get them their own library card if possible, and give your child even more ownership of their learning!
8. Visit preschool Websites to help with more letter recognition ideas. One of my favorites is enchantedlearning.com.
Most importantly, encourage your child's learning journey. The more excited you are about learning, the more eager they are to learn! They grow and learn more and more every day.
Published: February 17, 2006
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